3 Pre-Bitcoin Virtual Currencies That Bit the Dust

The history of the Internet is filled with examples of individuals or teams trying to bring characteristics of physical currency to the digital realm. Until bitcoin, nearly all prior attempts either failed or fell pitfall to issues related to centralization and crime, among others. Yet despite their stumbles, the examples outlined below may serve as a reminder that, like bitcoin, other concepts were able to attract significant media attention, a number of users and, in some cases, significant investor capital. Above all, the efforts demonstrate that the desire to create native currency systems for the digital world are almost as old as the Internet itself. Flooz Flooz.com was a poster child of the late 90s tech boom that ultimately soured by 2001. Pitched as a digital tool for merchants accepting payment on the still relatively young Internet, Flooz was compared to coupons...